SCS Inspired Shaving Cream/Re-inker Technique

Good morning! So...yesterday, I received my Splitcoast Stampers Weekly Inkling email. I read it each and every week for inspiration, and although I enjoy the techniques described, I have done them many times. I just look through for design ideas, or color combos and things like that. This week, I saw a link to a Ghosting Tutorial, and as I read through the comments, I came across a link to a shaving cream tutorial. I was intrigued. How could you use shaving cream on a project?

Well, of course this new discovery excited me to the point I just *had* to try it out with my Crafter's Companion stamps and supplies. I decided to give it a go (after asking hubby how much shaving cream he had left. He said not much, so I ended up making a trip to the store later in the day to buy a fresh one!) It was super fun to create, and I loved playing around and experimenting. In the end, I think the project went a different direction because of the experimentation! I love when that happens :)

Ok. To start, you will need something to put the shaving cream in/on. I went with a plate, but you can use anything as long as you can lay a piece of paper down in it. A sandwich container will work if you are using a smaller piece of paper. You'll also need a re-inker (I used Black Soot as it is all I have until the order I just placed comes in. When you use multiple colors, they blend together and look fantastic...watch for another project once I get them!), a thin popsicle stick, a piece of cardstock, and a paper towel (I ran out of paper towels earlier in the morning, so I used napkins.)

Cover your plate/container with a layer of shaving cream. Hubby likes this aloe Barbasol, but I think next time I'll try the original as I think the aloe made it a little thicker and harder to pull the paper off. I'll let you know if there is a difference!

Smooth out the pile of shaving cream with your popsicle stick to make it as flat as you can.

 Start applying the re-inker to the shaving cream. Vary colors for a really cool marble effect, something I am going to show off in my next post using this technique :)

 Start swirling the the popsicle sticks through the drops. I found that you could make shapes in the shaving cream, or just randomly swirl it through. Play around and see all the different finished products you can get out of this!

 Press your piece of cardstock down on the shaving cream, assuring it is completely covered.

 Here's the paper when I pulled it out. As I said, I suspect the fact it is aloe Barbasol leads to it being to thick to pull out cleanly. It still made great background papers to use in future projects, but can't wait to see if the shaving cream without aloe will be better.

Take other pieces of paper and press them down on top of the piece you just pulled out of the shaving cream. Continue if you'd like. It's pretty cool to see The different effects you can get from the lesser amounts of shaving cream/ink.

 Use your paper towel to wipe the shaving cream from the paper. Blot to keep the ink in place, or rub to get the ink to blend and fade. Have fun with it! Did I mention it smells fantastic?!

 Now...here are the finished pieces. See the big sheet? That was my protective surface, and I saw the square shape the smaller pieces of cardstock made on it and instantly had an idea. This started as a card, but finished as a layout :)

 Look at all of the different effects you can create using this technique. I can't wait to do this with multiple colors :)

So here's the sheet of paper that inspired the project. Can't you see the photo fitting right in to the square shape left by the squares of papers placed on top of it?

 I took a small square, cutting the edges, and decided to use my Sheena A Little Bit Scenic - Silhouette Garden stamp set and create an embellishment (and what ended up being my title) for my layout. I took a white ink pad and stamped the branch all over the paper. I finished with the sentiment, covering the Rhubarb Stalk Memento ink in clear embossing powder. After setting it with my heat tool, I had this finished product, so pretty!

 Here's the background sheet I just knew would be perfect. See how the photo just sits in there like it was meant to be?

 The butterfly in the stamp set works perfectly to bring a bit more red into the project.

 I used Fancy Pants The Good Life papers and embellishments for this. I love the background pattern with the black and grey on the papers I created :) I sponged the ink used to stamp the sentiment and butterflies on the edge of a piece of white cardstock under the sentiment.

So I hope you try this out, and watch for another project featuring this technique once I get my package containing more re-inkers due in the next week. I can't wait, I love the marbleized look and think multiple colors would create some beautiful things!